You collect payment in advance, place your order, and arrange for pickup or home delivery when your supplier ships your group order. You can do a flower bulb fundraiser at any time of the year, but they work best in late Winter when people start thinking about their gardens and landscaping.

Getting started Picking the right supplier is key to your fundraising success. You want a company that's been in business for many years and that has a strong fundraising program.

Request a sample catalog from your top three choices and compare product offerings and prices. You'll sell more if the prices are low and the brochure is colorful and easy to read.

Once you've picked your supplier, there are two ways to generate sales. One is the traditional door-to-door sales approach and the other is hosting a spring gardening event. There's no reason why you can't do both!

Sales tips For in person sales, following a sales script produces the best results. There are three things you want to do right away with each prospect.

1 - Look the customer in the eye and smile as you extend your sales brochure while introducing yourself. Example: 'Hi, I'm Jane Jones...'

2 - Clearly explain in one sentence who you are and why you are raising funds. Example: 'Hi, I'm Jane Jones with the Millbrook High Band and we're raising funds for new uniforms with these great flower bulbs.'

3 - Ask for their help and use the word 'because' because it's a subconscious psychological trigger word. Example: 'Can you help us out with an order because the old uniforms are really worn out?'

Additionally, recommending a favorite item gets the person looking for their own favorite to order. Example: 'I really like the hyacinths because they smell so good.'

Garden event tips Hosting a gardening event is a lot more work than selling to family, friends, and neighbors, but it offers a lot more profit potential. You can offer a lot of related products such as mulch, pine straw, flowering plants, gardening tools, lawn service, etc.

Contact merchants who offer gardening-related products and sell display space at your event where they can show their wares. Contract with nurseries for larger plants and take a cut of sales.

Work with suppliers of mulch and pine straw to offer those products that require delivery. Sell them yourself with a markup added or have them staff a sales table at the event for a share of the revenue instead of a booth fee.

An of course, sell flower bulbs from the brochures at the highest traffic location. Adding displays of those particular flowers will greatly increase sales.

Publicity Any fundraising event requires publicity, so be sure to get a press release out to all the major media outlets in your area. Cover the who, what, when where, why and how of your fundraiser.

Make sure the summary paragraph features a newsworthy angle and describes why you are raising funds. After all, these organizations are looking for news that will interest their viewers, readers, or listeners.

Summary A flower bulb fundraiser is a great way to raise much needed funds for any group. You can do the traditional door-to-door sales approach or you can turn it into an event.

The choice is yours, but whichever one you choose, have fun with your flower bulb fundraiser!

Article written by Kimberly Reynolds.